Passion: Love and Hatred
by Dean Gabriel
Summary: Astrid never knew passion until she met Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III.


**Title:** Passion: Love And Hatred  
**Summary:** Astrid felt she had never known passion until she met Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III  
**Pairing:** Hiccup/Astrid  
**Fandom:** How To Train Your Dragon (movie)  
**Disclaimer:** You think I'd be writing this if I owned the movie?

Astrid felt she had never felt passion until she met Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III.

When she had first met the boy, she had thought nothing of him. He was the chief's son but he was weak and scrawny. She would be better than him. She would be higher esteemed than him.

It was with horror she found out Hiccup wasn't just weak, he was also a disaster magnet. She had been close to making her parents so proud three times before she began dragon training - count them, _three times_ - and he had quickly pulled off some great stunt, dashed her hopes and spoiled everything. She had never known determination before Hiccup. The more he failed, the more motivated she was to keep going and triumph, despite him.

Then came dragon training. When she first walked into the ring and saw that Hiccup was also going to be one of them, she silently prayed to Odin he wouldn't get them all killed as soon as the first dragon was released from its cage. He didn't, but he came close. Oh and, he tried to talk to her. This puzzled her most of all, because although other Viking boys often tried to flirt with her, he was... different. He hadn't attempted to impress her, he had just tried to... talk to her.

Thor, he was driving her crazy.

Their second lesson had involved the very embarassing incident of her falling on top of him. It infuriated her even more when she realised she had paused, hesitated, to realise he had brilliantly green eyes.

The only reason nobody teased her about it afterwards was because she nearly strangled Ruffnut when it was mentioned.

And then - and _then_ - she found out what it was like to be jealous. She had never been jealous before, never having anything or anyone to be jealous _of_. But suddenly, here, by some stupid fluke, Hiccup had defeated her in a dragon training lesson as easily as slicing cheese, without even touching the dragon.

It was a fluke, she assured herself as she let out some steam against some unfortunate trees. Maybe he'd been messing around somewhere and Zipplebacks didn't like the smell. It most certainly sounded Hiccup-like.

But then it happened again. With a twitch of his hand, he'd downed a Gronkle without harming it. And he did the same with a Nadder, _just before she was going to hit it_. She'd gone out again to take it out on some more poor trees when she suddenly saw him passing through the woods, wearing some odd gear and bearing something in his arms. He froze when he saw her before fleeing like a deer catching sight of hunters. She scrambled around up a boulder, trying to following him but he'd disappeared. She _had_ seen him sneaking off once, but she had simply assumed he was tired and was following Gobber's advice of turning in early. But was he...?

She became increasingly suspicious. Sneaking off into the woods wearing weird clothes... and then some nights later she caught him sneaking around at night, wearing the weird clothes again, tugging at a rope or something. She stopped him and saw that he was also extremely agitated. He mumbled and stammered her name a few times with an awkward smile before suddenly being dragged away by something she couldn't see. She tried to follow him again, but failed then too. Astrid found herself despising his eccentricity more and more.

She'd had the last straw when, during their second last exam, fighting a Gronkle, she'd explicitly ordered him to stay out of her way and let her do her thing. He had promised (well, sort of), and then proceeded to break his promise 30 seconds later. And got picked to take the final exam against a Monstrous Nightmare.

If she had bothered to look at him, she would've noticed him looking at her apprehensively as if this was not what he'd wanted but she'd been too busy cursing him to... well, maybe it was better not to say. Well, she'd had it. She was going to discover his secret and expose him for the fraud he really was. Because something in her mind just told her he was cheating. Any idiot could see it, really. Hiccup the Useless was suddenly extremely Useful! Miracles didn't happen just like that. Even if you _were_ Stoick the Vast's son.

So she followed him quietly as he disapparead again for the afternoon. He had donned the odd starps again, carrying a basket over his shoulder. As she followed him, sometimes behind bushes, sometimes in the trees, she noticed him following a path of trampled grass and broken twigs he had obviously crossed many times before. She went on by herself and stumbled upon a beautiful cove, but she couldn't appreciate the view. She perched herself on a rock directly in front of the sunlight (it was odd how many days of sunshine they'd had recently) and began to sharpen her axe. She would probably need it.

Hiccup didn't notice her right away as he emerged from the trees. 'We're leaving,' he called out. The first thing that registered in Astrid's mind was _So there is someone else here_. But then something else hit her. 'Let's pack up. You and me are taking a little vacation... forever.' He was _leaving_? Why?

He sat in the shade of her rock without noticing her. With a sigh, he opened his basket and she drew her stone against her blade. He jumped back in surprise. 'Wh-what the - What are you doing here?' He looked around warily, talking in an odd monotone of sorts.

'I wanna know what's going on,' Astrid replied coolly, admiring her axe before jumping down from her rock and beginning to advance on Hiccup. He looked practically terrified and began to back away. The anger she'd been bottling up began to threaten to burst its dam. 'No one just _gets_ as good as you do. _Especially_ you. Start talking. Are you training with somebody?'

'T-training?'

His face gave everything away. She knew it. Beginning to lose patience, she shook his gear. 'It better not involve _this_!'

'I know this looks really bad but I uh-'

There was a rustle in the trees and Astrid gasped, her attention diverted. She walked forward, straining to see exactly who - or what - it was that lived here, teaching Hiccup every day. Hiccup didn't appear to have noticed, or maybe did because his note of anxiety became more pronounced. 'A-ah you're right, you're right! I'm through with the lies! I've been making... outfits! So drag me back, take me home, it's time everyone knew, here we go...' So absorbed was she with seeing what it was that was hidden in threes, she hadn't notice him grab her arm and put her hand on his chest. She was livid, nobody just touched her like that! She twisted his arm painfully and he groaned as he fell over. '_Why_ would you do that?'

...Just what sort of question was that? 'That's for the lies,' she said, shoving him down when he made to rise. 'And _that_,' she dropped the butt of her axe where she knew it would kill, taking pleasure in his moan of pain 'was for _everything else_.'

There was another noise from the tress and she snapped her head up to look and see, with a gasp of horror, a dragon. She turned around, flinging an arm around Hiccup, bringing him down again as he was getting up. 'Get down!' She got up herself to throw her axe when, much to her surprise, _she_ was shoved down and her weapon seized from her and thrown away and Hiccup was _talking_ to the dragon.

'It's okay!' he was exclaiming. 'She's a friend.' The dragon calmed under his command and Astrid realised with revulsion it was a _Night Fury_. 'You just scared him,' Hiccup told her as the Night Fury nudged himself under his arm.

'_I_ scared _him_?' she screeched. Wait - _what_? 'Who... is _him_?'

'Oh uh...' he straightened up. 'Astrid, Toothless.' He motioned from one to the other. 'Toothless... Astrid.' 'Toothless' growled at her. She stared at the duo. She'd always known Hiccup was crazy.

'You're so busted,' and fled. She had to tell the chief! She'd known it, he was a traitor, a filthy liar, keeping a pet _dragon_there... if it had been a mere Terrible Terror it wouldn't be so bad but a _Night Fury_? No one had ever even downed one!

Running across the forest floor, she cleared a log in one leap, but she didn't land. She was rising up, up and there were large claws holding on to her. 'Oh Odin - this is -' she let out a scream that echoed around the forest, the cove, the valleys, fear splashing in her stomach in waves. She was going to die for discovering Hiccup's pet, they were going to make her regret prying in business that wasn't her own, she - 'Wah!' She was dropped onto a tree and she clung onto a branch, her heart beating like a bird attacking the bars of its cage, trying to get out. She felt the top of the tree bend over and, looking up, she saw Hiccup on the back of his dragon. Oh Thor help her, he was riding it. He was so dead now.

'Hiccup! Get me _down_ from here!' she shrieked.

'You have to give me the chance to explain!' he pleaded, stretching out his hands.

'I am not listening to _anything_ you have to say!' No she was not. She'd had enough. She thought she'd seen the last of it when he defeated her with the Gronkle but she'd been so wrong. This was so much worse than anything she could have ever imagined, how could he explain _this_ away?

'Then I won't speak.' His words surprised her. 'Just let me show you... please Astrid.'

She hesitated, but she knew, weak as the chief's son was, he was still a Viking, and as stubborn as they came. He would wait for her.

Astrid hoisted herself onto the topmost branches. She wasn't afraid of heights, but she was afraid of falling. Not even she could survive a fall like that. Her pride wouldn't allow her to accept the hand Hiccup offered her and... 'Toothless'... growled when she touched it but she got on behind Hiccup. She raised her hands slightly, refusing to hold onto him. 'Now get me down from here.'

'Toothless, down,' said Hiccup, patting the Night Fury's head. '_Gently._' It spread its wings and began to rise. Hiccup turned to her. 'See? Nothing to be afraid of.'

She didn't have the faintest clue of what he was talking about as they began to hurtle through the air. She screamed again (she was going to have a sore throat tomorrow if she continued to shout anymore) and she was nearly thrown off. 'H-he's not usually like this,' Hiccup laughed tensely, scolding his dragon, as she instinctly wrapped herself around him. She barely knew what to think, her head was spinning and her body trembled.

'Okay, I'm sorry,' she cried, pressing her head to Hiccup's back as they went spinning around crazily. 'I'm sorry. Just get me off this thing.'

The rest of the ride that followed could never be put into words, Astrid realised. She knew exactly what was happening, but the feeling of soaring through the air on the back of a Night Fury, gliding in and out of clouds, feeling the sky with the tips of her fingers, watching the sunset, the Northern Lights, the breathtaking view of Berk... it was beyond what the mind could comprehend coherently. The mind only saw the passion, but the heart understood.

Astrid learnt to allow her heart to dominate her mind that night. She realised, sometimes feelings were just better than logic. Like... like how you didn't need a good reason to kiss somebody.

She'd always owe Hiccup that, the understanding of the heart.

Note: I know Astrid never said 'You're so busted' when she found out about Toothless but she did in the trailer and it was awesome, so I thought I'd put it in. Why? Because I just love Astrid like that ;D


End file.
